Tailwinds Music
Festival In Wappinger Falls New York
June 29, 2019
FEATURING: The Chris Robinson Brotherhood
Geoff Tate's Operation: Mindcrime
Black Stone Cherry
Kings X
Sass Jordan
FEATURING: The Chris Robinson Brotherhood
Geoff Tate's Operation: Mindcrime
Black Stone Cherry
Kings X
Sass Jordan
I often wondered what it would be like to sit in on all-day/all-night
rock concert. I have been to my share of concerts over the years and saw as
many as 4 bands performing short sets leading up to the headliner. But to leave at 7 am, drive 3 hours and
return home at 3 am is another matter. That is one long day. I found out that
is was well worth it by the time it was all over.
The first band came on at noon, one of the three local warm-ups
preceding Sass Jordan. The Jason Gisser Band was excellent and the lead singer,
the namesake of the band, has one fantastic voice. He reminded me of Lenny
Kravitz quite a bit actually, and as far as I am concerned that is a good
thing! After that set The Playback kept things going with their energized
alternative rock with a punk edge then Big Guns came on to close out the
warm-up sessions. They were very good as well and the lead singer was certainly
a big gun himself, I thought of the first lead singer of Marillion, the
gargantuan Fish.
Time
was ticking away on this beautiful day. The threat of rain was there but the
storm headed our way turned around and changed direction. The music gods were
with us as the sky cleared into blue and the sun was blazing. After a few hours
of that sun beating down on you, a break was necessary. And once again we were
blessed with a reprieve as a cloud cover moved in and blocked out those rays.
Mr. Sun would return much later in the day and provide us with a spectacular
blend of colors over the mountains.
Next
up was Doug Pinnick’s Kings X. His music is different and he has a distinct
vocal style that takes a bit of getting used to if you are not familiar with
the music. I am familiar and actually enjoy his vocal style. The music can be a
very heavy prog metal to a rock-blues edge sound. One thing you can count on in
the songs are some interesting time changes. All the guitar players out there
would be hard-pressed to duplicate what is being produced. Pinnick’s long
slender frame and extremely long arms allow him to carry his bass down to his
knees. He plays it like a lead guitar. Kings X has a large catalog of music to
check out and enjoy and the concert was a taste of what there is to offer the
“progressive” listeners.
By
this point, the audience began moving closer to the stage and it continued to
grow but not to the point of pushing us out of our seats (lawn chairs). We were
about 10ft back from the stage, a perfect range to capture all the sounds and
vocals. I was told at the gate they sold 1,500 tickets but it sure did not look
like that many people. The capacity is 5,000 so the response to this event was
pretty pathetic. It supported women’s breast cancer and the artists that were
on stage were fantastic, all of them.
At one point during the performance, this beautiful blonde
girl comes out on stage to sing with Geoff. I had no idea who she was. It was
Geoff’s daughter Emily. She also was holding down the fort at the band’s merch
table. Later on, I stopped by to say hello and asked her to make sure she told
her dad that I thought that was the best Queensryche show I have ever seen.
That was number 3 for me. I thought that would put a smile on his face.
Tate is as energetic and vibrant as ever and the band is
tight and spot on. Basically, everything necessary to perform such a classic
and musically difficult to perform recording. With twin guitars blazing away
and a rhythm section that you can feel pounding right through your chest, it’s
just what the doctor ordered for Mr. Tate to be in his best form. I took more
pictures of that performance than any of the entire day and evening. In fact, I
know CRB was the headliner but Geoff’s band could have easily been as well. No
disrespect to CRB, they are fantastic, but as far as the level of musicianship
and precision delivery, they are equals without question.
After
that incredible performance, what more could a music lover ask for right? Well,
how about the totally kick-ass Black Stone Cherry? Now here is a band that I
knew of and I never pursued their music. After hearing their performance, I am
totally hooked. They put on an amazing show and it rocked the house down. I
went to the local vinyl LP vendor there and grabbed the only copy of their
latest release Family Tree. I spoke to one of their fans on the way to
the lovely porta-potties and he informed me that was their best album and they
had just played 5 songs for us. I was sold!
Anyone that likes to rock would love this band I have no doubt. For
those music fans that left early, which was foolish, you missed a band in its
prime cranking it out.
Now after hearing all of that loud and raucous music, I
think we were all ready for something different, some tunes with a warmer
blues, funky rock sound. That would be provided by The Chris Robinson
Brotherhood. I picked up their new release Servants of the Sun in
limited edition colored vinyl. I have yet to give it a spin but I am sure it’s
great. I will buy anything they put it without a second thought.
CRB has a distinct sound and their main man Chris has a
vocal style that is instantly recognizable. There is not anyone that sounds
like him. I saw them several years ago when they had their first album out and
completely enjoyed the show. This evening would be no exception. They made
their way through thirteen songs interweaving their own blend of southern rock,
blues, and country. I always enjoyed the guitar playing which reminds me fondly
of the Allman Brothers. Chris looked very happy on stage, smiling frequently.
There is not a lot to say from this group, Chris thanks the audience after each
song then launches right into another one. They are like a well-oiled machine
on stage and in the studio. They will be winding up their tour and finally
taking a well-deserved break.
What day, what a night. I will never forget the experience
I had hearing all that music. It was a glorious day and I hope if they have
this event again and more importantly, that the support will be much better.
Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck
July 1, 2019
Founder of:
Note: All the pictures were snapped by me with my Google Pixel2 Phone.
